Andy Warhol, born Andy Warhola Jr in 1928, was an enigma even to those who were close to him. He became well known in the 1960s in the field of Pop Art and filming-making. His images of Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and even of tins of Campbell’s soup became world-famous iconic images, However, these ten selected images show him as he wanted to be seen by the world. The works are portraits of the artist's masks and their ambiguity lies in whether they are, in fact, accurate representations of the real Warhol or simply a means of deception - an act in pursuit of privacy. See what you think…
I'm listening to the American country singer Iris DeMent with her song Let the Mystery Be which is about whether or not there is an afterlife. She's not everyones cup of tea but I love her voice and her quirky facial expressions. And I also really like seeing real musicians playing. Listen here - it's fun!
8 comments:
I didn't like Warhol because he was self absorbed and self aggrandising. He said himself that "Once you got pop, you could never see a sign the same way again. And once you thought pop, you could never see America the same way again." Not right at all, Mr Warhol!
But I felt sorry for his ill health and its impact on his face, and thought it was very brave doing self-portraits.
As the progenitor of "Fifteen minutes of fame", I think he really did have his prophetic finger on the pulse of his times. His art and the whole Pop Art movement really shifted the range of subjects that an artist could use. Everyday objects became the subjects and the audience for art was greatly expanded. Whether for better or worse is a subject for debate...
Hi Bazza - he's an iconic figure ... but his art has never appealed - though I need to learn more, and hope somewhere along the line I'll find time to do that - probably not the best way but via a biographical documentary film. At least the doors get open - as I am most definitely not an art 'fundi' and have very limited ideas. Cheers - Hilary
Hello Bazza, Showing real aspects of yourself is sometimes also the best way to build a wall. These photos definitely show multiple aspects of his personality. It's like they say about the titles of one's books defining who you are--but interesting people possess books in many categories. Incidentally, I do find a lot of his art appealing--perhaps that has to do with being a brash American.
--Jim
Hilary: I do agree with you to a certain amount but I have always found Warhol interesting and something of an enigma. He did change the art world to a substantial degree and only more years will really show his worth (although it's been quite a few already!)
Jim: I find your first sentence to be very interesting but I'm not sure that I understand it. Do you mean that someone might be manipulating their image in order to appear a certain way or maybe to hide certain aspects of themselves?
I'm not sure what could be learned from the 500+ books that I own!
Taking a handful of titles at random from the shelves behind me as I write:
1) How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain De Botton
2) The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
3) Jewish London by Rachel Kolksy & Roslyn Rawson.
3) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Such interesting photos and art of Andrew Warhol. Many of them I had never seen.
Sherry: I hadn't seen half of them myself until I researched this!
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